Earth moving or leveling machine



Oct. 17, 1950 R. E. STEVENSON EARTH mum: OR LEVELING uAcnm-z 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 27, 1946 RAY E.$TEVENSON' amywmp Oct. 17, 1950 R. E. STEVENSON EARTH MOVING 0R LEVELING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 27, 1946 RAY .E. STEVENSON Oct. 17, 1950- R. E. STEVENSON EARTH MOVING 0R LEVELINGMACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 27, 1946 2 FIG. 3

[III [1 RAY 'E. STEVENSON F FIG. 9.

66 FIGS.

Patented Oct. 17, 1950 UNITED STAT ES OFFI r 2,526,589 EARTH MOVING on LEVE-LING MACHINE ItayE. Stevenson, Seattle, Wash. Application December 27, 1946,- Serial No. 718,837

1 C a m, 1

My invention relates to a machine: for moving or leveling earth, and the like.

An important object of my invention isto provide a machine for moving or leveling earth, including a tractor, and having hydraulically operated means for raising and lowering the leveling blade or mold-board.

A further object of the invention is to provide an earth'moving machineof the character mentioned, in which the hydraulic mold-board adjusting means are arranged in such a manner that they are out ofthe field of vision of the operator, and tend to concentrate weight near the center of gravity of the tractor.

A further object is to provide a closed hydraulic system for moving the leveling blade or mold-board, which system is simple and positive in operation.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a machine for moving earth, and the like, which is relatively simple in construction, and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course ofthe following description.

Inthe accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the sam Figure 1 is a plan view of the earth moving machine. embodying my :invention,

Figure 2 is a sideelevation of the same,

Figure 3 is a planview of;the U-shaped-frame and mold-board removed, parts broken away,

Figure .4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-4 of FigureB;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical section taken online 5-5 of Figure 2,

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the hydraulic system,

Figure! is an end'elevation, diagrammatic in form, of a controlvalve,

Figure 8 is a longitudinal section taken on line 8:- 8-.of Fi ure 7,

Figure 9 is alongitudinal vertical section taken on line 9 -9 of Figure 7, and

Figure 10 is ahorizontal longitudinal section takenon line, l0,l u; ofFigure '7.

In the drawings, wherefor the purpose of illustration, is shownapreferredembodiment of'my invention, the numeral. I5. designatesa. tractor, including a chassis l6, suitably supported by wheels 11, carrying Caterpillar treads 3; Disposed ;near' and outwardly of the .wheels. I11 are longitudinal railsl 9, which are preferably channel-shaped in transverse crosssection, Long e tudinal angle-irons 2.0 are arranged beneath. the rails 19, and suitably rigidly, secured thereto. The rails 19 are arranged. upon. opposite sides of the tractor, and carry bearings 21:, which are, rigidly secured to the rails, and which receive pins 22, rigidly secured to supports 23. These supports. 23 are fixed. to the. chassis Hi, The fails it are horizontal, and are provided attheir forward ends with upstanding bearings 24., which rotatably receive pins. or hub, extensions, 25, of the front wheels l1. It is, thusseen. that: the rails 19 are. suspended from the chassis. of the tractor, and are held against movement relative thereto.

Arranged near the forward, endof the-tractor;

and extending, forwardly of the same isa U:

shaped frame 26, including parallel longitudir nalmain arms 2.1, and aIorWard transverse beam 28, secured to .the forwardends .of the main arms 21 by means of welding, or the like... The ,frame 26 further includes a pair of horizontal diagonal braces 29 arranged near the forward end of the frame, the ends of which are rigidlysecured to the main arms21 andto the beam 28,;by, means of welding, or the like. Rigidly-secured to,the ends of the beam2B and to ,the outer-sid s. 0f the main arms 21, near'their, forwardends, are vertical side plates 30. Theseplates 30 formthe sides fora curved moldeboard or plate; 351,,and this mold-board is-arranged betweentheside plates 30 and its ends are rigidly secured to the side plates, by means of welding, or the; like; Rigidly secured to the rear surface of thegmold: board 3!, and extending longitudinally of the mold-board and flush with its upper edge, Sra stiffener plate 32. Rigidly, secured to the, rear surface of the mold board and to the rear side of the stiffener plate 32 are forwardly upwardly inclined braces. 33, the lower ends of-which are rigidly secured to the, arms 21, by means of :welding, or the like. The mold-board 3| is pro vided with a scraper plate, or blade34, rigidly: se cured to the mold board, near the. lowerdongitudinal edge of the same, by means of bolts, or-the like. This blade 34..extends for the, entirelength of the mold board. Arranged .near the rear ends of the main arms 21, and rigidly secured thereto byv means of welding, or the like, are; parallel rearwardlyv upwardly inclinedleyer arms 35, the upper ends of whichterminate.rearwardlyof;the main arms 21 and substantially at the top of the tractor chassis l6. Rigidlysecured to therupper surfaces of the main arms 21, and to the forward inclined surfaces ofthe, lever, arms-35 are stiffener' webs 36. The rear ends of the main arms 21 carry suitable bearing blocks 31.

Mounted upon the rails I9, and rigidly secured thereto by means of bolts 38, or the like, are vertical jack mounting brackets 39, having inwardly extending transverse mounting extensions 40, and depending extensions 4|. Mounted within openings formed in the depending extensions 4|, are pivot pins 42, which extend through the bearing blocks 31. Attached to the jack mounting brackets 39, near their upper ends, by means of bolts 43, or the like, are offset jack mounting brackets 44.

The numeral 45 designates hydraulic jacks, provided near their rearward ends with opposed horizontal trunnions 46, which extend through aligned openings in the jack mounting brackets 39 and the offset jack mounting brackets 44. Each hydraulic jack 45 includes a cylinder 41, and a reciprocatory plunger 48, which is rigidly secured to the forward end of a plunger rod 49. Each plunger rod 49 extends longitudinally rearwardly of its associated jack cylinder 41, and has pivotal connection with the upper end of the ad- Jacent lever arm 35, at 59.

Arranged at the rear of the tractor is a liquid holding tank 5|, secured thereto by suitable means, and having an outlet pipe 52 which leads to a rotary pump 53. This rotary pump is rigidly mounted upon the chassis I6, at its rear end. The pump 53 has an outlet connection 54 and an intake connection 55.

Arranged near and in advance of the pump 53 is a valve 56, including a horizontal casing 5'1, having ports 58 and 58'; and ports 59 and 59, Figure 10. The valve casing is fixedly mounted upon the chassis by any suitable means. Mounted to turn within the case 51 is a valve element 60, having a pair of transverse parallel ports 6! and 62, Figure 10. The valve element has a longitudinal bypass port 63, Figure 8. The valve element 60 has a pair of diagonal ports 64 and 65, which cross but do not communicate with each other. The ends of the ports 63, 64 and 65 pass through the periphery of the valve element. The horizontal valve element 60 is turned by a handle 66, arranged in convenient reach of the operator upon the seat 61. A pipe 68 is secured to the connection 54 and is connected with the casing 51 and leads into the port 58. Apipe 69 is secured to the connection 55 and is connected with the casing 51 and communicates with the port 59. These pipes 68 and 69 are preferably flexible hose. A pipe 19 is connected with the casing 51 and leads into the port 58'. This pipe is connected with and leads into the forward ends of the jack cylinders 45 and 41. This pipe includes rigid pipe sections H and 12, connected by flexible hose 13. A pipe 14 is connected with the casing 51-and leads into the port 59' and this pipe is connected with and leads into the rear ends of the jack cylinders 45 and 41. This pipe 14 includes a rigid pipe section 15 and flexible hose connections 16.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

: When the handle 66 is swung rearwardly, the port 6| registers with ports 58 and 58, and the port 62 registers with ports 59 and 59'. The liquid under pressure will be supplied from the outlet side 54 of the pump 53 and will pass through pipe 68, through the port 6|, pipe and into the forward ends of the jack cylinders 45 and 41. The entire system is filled with the liquid and the liquid at the rear of the plungers 48 of the jack cylinders 45 and 47 will pass through pipes 14 and 15, and. through the port 62 of the valve and enter the suction end of the pump through pipe 69 and connections 55. The two plungers 48 are moved rearwardly in unison, and swing the forward end of the mold-board carrying frame upwardly. This action will continue until the ports 58 and 59' are closed, which is effected by swinging the lever 66 further rearwardly to bring the ends of the bypass. port 63 into registration with the ports 58 and 59. The frame is now locked in the raised adjusted position. The fluid from the pump will now circulate through the pipe 68, port 58, port 63, port 59 and through pipe 69 back to the pump. To lower the frame 26, the handle 66 is swung forwardly to bring one end of the port 65 into registration with the port 58 and its opposite end into registration with the port 59, and one end of the port 64 into registration with the port 58' and its opposite end into registration with the port 59. The fluid now passes from the discharge side of the pump 53, through port 58 and port.65 to the rear end of the jack cylinders 45 and 41 through pipes 14 and 15. The fluid passes from the forward ends of the jack cylinders 45 and 41 and passes through the pipes H and 10 and enters the suction end of the pump through the port 64, port 59 and through the pipe 69 to the intake side of the pump. The plungers 48 are now moved forwardly in unison and the frame 26 is lowered. When the handle 66 is again swung rearwardly the ports 58 and 59 are closed to lock the frame 26 in the adjusted lowered position and the bypass port 63 is placed in communication with the ports 58 and 59, to bypass the fluid between the outlet and inlet sides of the pump. The jack cylinders 4! swing vertically upon their pivots during the raising and lowering of the frame 26. The tractor is moved forwardly and steered in the usual manner.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claim. While it is preferred to use the valve shown and described, different types of valves for accomplishing the same purpose may be used.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim is:

An earth moving machine comprising a tractor including a main frame, substantially horizontal support rails disposed adjacent to the opposite sides of the tractor and extending longitudinally of the tractor and disposed laterally outwardly of the opposite sides of the main frame and secured to the main frame, a single substantially vertical fiat bracket plate secured to the top of each horizontal support rail and projecting above the same for a substantial distance, the bracket plates being laterally oppositely disposed and including flat depending integral extensions disposed adjacent to the outer faces of the support rails, said depending extensions having their bottoms terminating adjacent to the bottoms of the support rails; separate jack cylinder mounting brackets detachably secured to the outer sides of the bracket plates near the tops of the bracket plates and including integral laterally outwardly offset substantially vertical portions which are adjacent to the tops of the bracket plates and spaced laterally outwardly thereof, generally horizontal vertically swingable jack cylinders ar- 5 ranged between the tops of the bracket plates and said vertical portions and pivotally connected near their rear ends only with the tops of the bracket plates and vertical portions, re-

ciprocatory plungers mounted within the jack cylinders and including rods which extend longitudinally rearwardly of the tops of the bracket plates and vertical portions, a generally horizontal U-shaped frame including side arms disposed adjacent to the outer faces of the vertical bracket plates and substantially at the elevation of the depending extensions of the bracket plates, the rear ends of the side arms being pivotally secured to the depending extensions of the bracket plates so that the U-shaped frame may swing vertically, a blade secured to the forward end of the U-shaped frame, single upstanding rearwardly inclined lever arms secured to the side arms of the U-shaped frame and disposed near the outer faces of the bracket plates and having their top ends disposed substantially at the ele- RAY E. STEVENSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,133,549 Le Bleu Oct. 18, 1938 2,304,075 Davidson et a1. Dec. 8, 1942 2,314,475 Bird et al Mar. 23, 1943 

